Many in the NBA world thought that Anthony Davis could have easily won the In-Season Tournament MVP after his outstanding performance and his teammates were showering him with praise after the win.
Davis had a game-high of 41 points to go with 20 rebounds, five assists and four blocks in the Lakers 123-109 win over the Pacers. He also shot 16-24 from the field and 9-13 from the free-throw line.
“When AD plays like that, AD’s arguably the best player in the NBA,” Lakers guard Austin Reaves said. “You could just see his aggression on the offensive glass, getting. wedge rebounds, being able to get easy put-backs, and then just, I’ve said many times his defense is second to none. The way he basically stables our defense on that end, like I said it’s second to none. Tonight he brought all that to the table and played a really good basketball game.”
Reaves had himself a game with 28 points, two rebounds and three assists off the bench after recovering from an illness.
LeBron James was also quick to praise his teammate Davis and compared him to another Lakers legend.
“Absolutely, that was a Shaq-like dominant performance,” James said. “And we had the big fella (O’Neal) sitting down there by our bench. So, I think [Davis] was inspired. … AD was just dominant. Big time [performance].”
AD was happy to win the inaugural NBA Cup, but revealed that his team have their sights set on something bigger.
“I just try to do everything I can to win a basketball game,” Davis told reporters after the game. “Obviously, my teammates put me in a great position to be successful. Obviously, this is special for us, just winning the inaugural In-Season Tournament.
“But we want to also win the same thing in June. It’s a step in the right direction, obviously, but even though it’s a big performance, it’s another game and we’ve got to continue to get going starting back on Tuesday.”